Garment bag



Oct. 17, 1939. G. E. LOFGREN GARMENT BAG Filed Feb. 26, 1938 2Shets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

Oct. 17, 1939.

e. E. LOFGREN 2,176,140

GARMENT BAG 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F iled Feb. 26, 1938 I INVENTOR 1.9 16 g MBY Mann 44 ATTO Patented Oct. 17, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEGARMENT BAG Gustaf Einar Lofgren, Riverside, Conn,

I to Electrolux Corporation, poration of Delaware assignor Dover, DeL, acor- Application February 26, 1938, Serial No. 192,683

5 for circulating air through the bag containing an insecticide in theform of a vapor for treating clothes located in the bag. Such treatmentof clothes is designed to kill moths or other insects or insect eggswhich may be located in the o clothes. It has been a practice to blowair into the garment bag which has been passed over vaporizablecrystals. In order to blow the vaporladen air into the garment bag, itis necessary to provide an outlet for the air in the bag. The

15 treatment of the clothes is accomplished in the passage of thevapor-laden air through the bag. The vapor which is carried out of thebag is lost so far as any further treatment of the clothes is concerned.

In accordance with my invention, a garment bag is provided with meansfor circulating vaporladen air within the bag without passing thevapor-laden air out of the bag.

My invention also contemplates the vaporiz- 25 ing of crystals withinthe bag and the circulating of the air around within the bag by meansexternal to the bag.

What I consider to be novel and my invention may be better understood byreference to the 30 following specification and appended claims whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1is a side view of my improved garment Fig. 2 is a sectional view of thebag on an enlarged scale; A

. Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the securing means for the turbine andblower;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the 49 turbine; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged sectional view of'the blower.

Referring to the drawings, in indicates a garment bag having a sideopening ll adapted to be 45 closed by a fastener l2. Opening I I isprovided for the insertion of clothes to be treated within the bag it.Fastener I2 is an air-tight closure' member for opening ll. Otherair-tight closure means may be substituted therefor. Located 50 withinthe bag I below the opening I l is a container I3. Container I3 includesa wall l4 formed with a plurality of layers of cardboard or othersubstantially rigidv material secured directly to the cloth l of bagIII. A side wall l6, two end walls ll, and a bottom wall l8 are formedfrom a single sheet of cardboard, or the like. Extending outwardly fromthe bottom wall I8 and end walls I! is a flange I 9 which is secured tothe wall l4.

The side wall I6 is spaced from the wall l4 to form a chambertherebetween communicating with a top opening 20. Opening 20 extendsentirely across the top of-the container l3. Located between the Wallsl4 and I6 of container --l3 are transverse partitions 2| and 22, shownin 10 dotted lines in Fig. 1, which extend inwardly from the opening atan angle to the end walls I! forming an orifice 23 and then outwardlyagain to the walls IT. A perforated plate 24 is secured to the walls I 4and I6 between the partitions 2| and 22 at the orifice 23. Thepartitions 2| and 22 and plate 24 form a hopper 25 at the top ofcontainer l3 in which vaporizable crystals 26 may be located. The plate24 and partitions 2| and 22 form a blower chamber 21 at the bottom ofcontainer 13 in which a centrifugal blower 28 is located. A circularopening 29 in wall I 6 forms an inlet opening for the centrifugalblower. A perforated plate 30 covers the opening 29 to prevent clothesor other foreign matter from being drawn into the blower chamber 21.

A turbine housing 3| having an outwardly extending flange 32 is securedto the bag In and the wall l4 of container l3 by means of a plurality ofwood screws 33. A turbine wheel 34 is located within housing 3|. Turbinewheel 34 is connected to blower 28 bymeans of a bolt 35 which passesthrough a bushing 36 located in wall l4. A sleeve 31 having a flange 38surrounds bushing 36 and is secured to wall l4 by means of a triangularplate 33 having a central aperture 40. Plate 39 has three pointed ends4| extending at right angles to the body of the plate which serve tosecure it to the wall I 4. The turbine wheel 34 is carried by bolt 35between two washers 42. Blower 28 is carried by bolt .35 between twowashers 43.

Housing 3| is provided with an inlet tube 44 connected with theperiphery of the housing serving to direct air tangentially to theperiphery of turbine wheel 34. Tube 44 is preferably made of a size toreceive a tube connected by a flexible hose to a vacuum cleaner at theblower end of the cleaner. Other means of producing a flow of air fordriving the turbine wheel 34 may be used. Air entering the tube 44impinges against the outer periphery of blades 45 rotating the turbinewheel in a clockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 4. A portion of theopening in tube is closed by a cut-oil 46 to direct the air at the outerperipheries of the blades 45, as best indicated in Fig. 4 (the arrowsindicating the direction of flow of the air). The air after travelingover the blades 45 passes out through a central opening 41. As theturbine wheel 34 rotates it drives the blower 28. Air is drawn inthrough the central opening 29 by the rotation of blower 28 and thrownout by the centrifugal action 01 the blower blades 48. The air thrownout by the blower 28 passes upwardly through the orifice 23 to the topopening 20 of container l3. As the air passes through the hopper 25, inwhich crystals 26 are located, the crystals are vaporized and thevapor-laden air passes out through opening 20. The crystals 26 arevaporized by the passage of the air over them assisted by thetemperature rise of the air in passing through the blower 28. The air inpassing through the blower 28 is raised in temperature due to thefriction produced between the air and the blades 48. The movement of theair through the blower and within the garment bag I0 is shown by arrowsin Figs. 2 and 5. The air leaving the opening 20 in the top of containerl3 passes up to the top of the bag l0, then to the left as shown in Fig.2 and then down the opposite side of the bag. The air then returns tothe opening 29. In this manner, the air is recirculated through the bagl0 and as it passes through the container l3, the vapor content of theair is increased.

The air driving the turbine wheel 34 does not enter the bag In. By thisarrangement none of the crystals are wasted by passing the vapor out ofthe bag but instead the vapor is continuously recirculated within thebag l0 without the necessity of any outlet in the bag. Thus a maximumutilization of the crystals in the treatment of clothes located withinthe bag is obtained.

In the use of garment bag ill for the treatment of clothes, the fastenerHis first moved to the position indicated in Fig. 1, uncovering theopening l I. A supply of crystals is placed in the hopper 25. The hopper25 is made sufiiciently large to contain a supply of crystals that willserve to repeatedly treat the clothes throughout a season. The clothesto be conditioned are inserted through the opening II. The opening II isthen closed by fastener l2. The inlet tube 44 of the turbine housing 3iis connected to the blower side of a vacuum cleaner or other source ofair pressure. The turbine wheel 34 is rotated by the flow of air throughit and in turn rotates the blower 28. The operation of the turbine wheel34 must be continued for a-sufiicient time to completely saturate theclothes within the garment bag Ill.

The time that the turbine will have to be oper.

ated will vary depending upon the amount of clothes located in the bagII]. If desired the clothes may be stored within the bag III for aseason. In such a case, it is desirable to treat the clothesperiodically to insure the protection of the clothes over a relativelylong period of time. As pointed out above, the hopper 25 will contain asufiiciently large supply of crystals so it is unnecessary to again openthe bag for the addition of crystals for the periodic treatment of theclothes throughout the season which might result in the loss ofvapor-laden air. For example, the clothes worn in the winter season maybe placed in the garment bag at the end of the season and treated. Atperiodic intervals they may be treated again by simply connecting asource of air pressure to the turbine inlet tube 44 without thenecessity of opening the garment bag. The bag need only be opened whenit is desired to remove the clothes from the bag at the start of thenext winter season. By the location of the means for vaporizing ,thecrystals within the garment bag operated by means external to the bagthe full quantity of crystals may be utilized in the treatment of theclothes.

What I claim is:

1. In combination with a garment bag, a container secured within saidgarment bag, a hopper in the top of said container for receivingvaporizable crystals and having a top opening, a fan secured within saidcontainer below said hopper, an inlet opening in the side wall of saidcontainer for said fan, and means located without said bag for drivingsaid fan, whereby air is circulated from said last-named opening throughsaid hopper and within said bag.

2. In combination with a garment bag, a container secured within saidgarment bag, a hopper in the top of said container for receivingvaporizable crystals and having a top opening, a fan secured within saidcontainer below said hopper, an inlet opening in the side wall of saidcontainer for said fan, and a turbine secured to the outside of said bagfor driving said fan, whereby air may be circulated over said crystalsand within said bag without passing any of the vapor-laden air out ofthe bag.

3. In combination with a garment bag, a container secured within saidbag having a top opening, partitions within said container forming ahopper adjacent said top opening with an orifice intermediate the topand bottom of said container, a perforated plate secured within saidcontainer across said orifice, a centrifugal fan located within saidcontainer below said orifice, a perforated plate secured over an inletopening in a side wall of said container for said fan, a turbine housingsecured to the outside of said bag, a turbine wheel mounted within saidhousing, a shaft connecting said turbine wheel to said fan, a tubesecured to the periphery of said turbine housing forming an inletopening for said turbine, and an outlet opening in said turbine housing,whereby air may be circulated through said container and within said bagupon the connection of said turbine inlet to a source of air pressure.

4. In the art of disinfecting, a garment bag, an insecticide containermounted within said bag, rotatable means cooperating with said containerand mounted on and supported by said bag for effecting circulation ofinsecticide within the bag, said rotatable means including a blowerelement entirely within said bag, and an air motor driving elementlocated without said bag, said driving element including a memberadapted. to receive its energy from air movement from a vacuum cleaner.

